Do you use it?
I’ve tried it a few times, but find a split screen 2D (one zoomed in, the other a partial zoom) to be far more useful.
To me having a simulated flasher is a huge waste of space on a rectangular screen.
What do you guys use? Do some of you use the flasher mode because you’re just used to looking at it?
not sure if you mean only summer electronics but Having just bought an LX-6 this summer I have played around with the displays a bit but i do really like the vertical full depth, flasher full depth, and vertical zoom. it seems like with just the two verticals that there is a lot of wasted space to me. But i will probably change my mind once i get to use it for real this winter.
Been saying it for years, flashers are dinosaurs. Won’t be any left after a decade, I’ll bet on it.
Too much available information on a 2d screen, lag time, meh, simply doesn’t matter. People don’t like change, and manufacturers make too much money off them I’d guess. Think about it, this tech has been around for how long, and they still cost how much? 1959 first lokator, 1980 first cell phone, same tech for cell nowadays would cost about $1.99, yet a fl-18 will drop ya $400….
I realize this question is posed for those with HD screen units and agree that a flasher simulation on such a unit doesn’t make sense. That said, I don’t understand the great advantage of scroll history over a standard flasher. I suppose with zoom the bottom separation is better but for my money a good old FL-8 is all a guy really needs. Depths and marks
Reach down for your Hamm’s Steve, oh shoot a guy needs another one, got to reach behind the sled, open the lid, well I know I had one more in here, push the jerky to the side, maybe it’s hiding under those cheddar sour cream ruffles, ah yes there it is. Alright, back to fishing. In that time a school of crappies swam by and lit up your screen like a Xmas tree, but since a flasher holds no history you don’t know that.
Or maybe you are on a real tough bite, cadence can be everything. You finally stick that nice sunnie youve been working and can’t remember what it was that triggered it, bump bump pause, or bump, pause lift? 2d will have it perfectly on your screen to replicate.
Being able to watch that one big fish move throughout the water column and trace it in a school to pick off with you lure. Instead of a dozen fancy lights all bunched up in a small section of circle flasher.
Could go on, don’t want to. Heck, I don’t even like ice fishing 
Reach down for your Hamm’s Steve, oh shoot a guy needs another one, got to reach behind the sled, open the lid, well I know I had one more in here, push the jerky to the side, maybe it’s hiding under those cheddar sour cream ruffles, ah yes there it is. Alright, back to fishing. In that time a school of crappies swam by and lit up your screen like a Xmas tree, but since a flasher holds no history you don’t know that.
Or maybe you are on a real tough bite, cadence can be everything. You finally stick that nice sunnie youve been working and can’t remember what it was that triggered it, bump bump pause, or bump, pause lift? 2d will have it perfectly on your screen to replicate.
Being able to watch that one big fish move throughout the water column and trace it in a school to pick off with you lure. Instead of a dozen fancy lights all bunched up in a small section of circle flasher.
Could go on, don’t want to. Heck, I don’t even like ice fishing
Maybe its just me but i would rather be digging through snack food looking for a hamms then scolling through a digital readout of the history of my flasher results. Sounds worse than what most people do for work
Maybe its just me but i would rather be digging through snack food looking for a hamms then scolling through a digital readout of the history of my flasher results. Sounds worse than what most people do for work
Well said.
a good old FL-8 is all a guy really needs. Depths and marks
Yep, that’s all I need. I debated over the years upgrading, but every year I spend my $ on something else and still find the old FL-8 serves me just fine.
Maybe its just me but i would rather be digging through snack food looking for a hamms then scolling through a digital readout of the history of my flasher results. Sounds worse than what most people do for work
That’s why I love ice fishing, especially in a hard house. You gotta get up once in awhile to grab a fresh beer, a snack, stir the pot of chili…maybe look out the window?
Just keep your 2 lines down on the rattle reels is sometimes good enough. 
No flasher mode for this guy, i think it’s silly. Water column, graph and zoom for me.
You could turn your head to grab a Hamms and not see the blip on your screen. With the graph you have about 8 seconds to see what was there. Easy enough time to grab the opener, pop the top, squeeze a lime in and see if something swam by your lure.
Most of us probably learned ice fishing on a flasher so that is what we are used to. Sounds weird but it took my brain awhile to switch from flasher screen to graph when ice fishing. Nice thing about split screen is you can have both if you like.
I don’t use it on my Lowrance because it simply doesn’t function as clearly as the graph mode.
There is one advantage to flasher mode. The fact that it’s a circle gives you roughly 3 times more linear space to display the water column. So basically 3 times the resolution vs the same vertical linear scale. That’s assuming you aren’t zoomed in.
No flasher mode for this guy, i think it’s silly. Water column, graph and zoom for me.
You could turn your head to grab a Hamms and not see the blip on your screen. With the graph you have about 8 seconds to see what was there. Easy enough time to grab the opener, pop the top, squeeze a lime in and see if something swam by your lure.
EPG I hope you’re not ruining a perfectly good Hamm’s with lime. Save that for those nasty Coronas! 
IDK the 8 seconds of graph history just doesn’t sway me much but to each their own. Buddy has a Helix and maybe I’ll play around with it this winter. If I had a boat and could use a graph for dual-purpose all year that’s a different argument
Eel got er, I never look through sonar history, didn’t know you can even do that. But I do tend reach for a beer alot…..
Have the hdi5 on the 14′ for summer, ice pack for winter.
You could turn your head to grab a Hamms and not see the blip on your screen. With the graph you have about 8 seconds to see what was there. Easy enough time to grab the opener, pop the top, squeeze a lime in and see if something swam by your lure.
You know, you’re just making this way too complicated.
I don’t need to squeeze a lime in my beer any more than I need to see a fish that swam by my lure 8 seconds ago. 
I don’t need to squeeze a lime in my beer any more than I need to see a fish that swam by my lure 8 seconds ago.
Especially when that same fish ended up on the ice,,,,, 6 seconds ago!! 
I don’t ever scroll back through the history, but I set my speed a little slower so more is left on the screen.
I couldn’t tell you how many extra fish it caught me when a fish showed up while I wasn’t paying attention.
It’s also awesome to historically see how a fish reacted to what you did.
Last year I started using a 73sv plus Garmin and I’ll never look back. I have it so I can hardwire it into the wheelhouse. Also made a rugged Pelican case for it to be portable.
The detail is crazy, especially fishing deep water. The pics below are in 32′, zoomed into the bottom 5′. I also have the bar on the right active, which is similar to a Showdown style flasher. It’s the same idea as flasher mode, but doesn’t take up near the real estate.
Here’s a couple pics, you know what the fish didn’t like 
IMG_20190125_193414.jpg
IMG_20190125_194543.jpg
That said, I don’t understand the great advantage of scroll history over a standard flasher.
Because without history can you see the bottom move up a pixel or two? That could very well be a fish moving in hugging tight to the bottom. And like was said you have the freedom to look around and not worry if you missed a fish swim through. People who just look at a single current moment on their screen rather than the past 30 seconds are missing so much.
Does flasher history change the more hamms you drink?
How’s the delay on newer units? I use my HDS5 gen2 as a backup or loaner to a friend but there is a delay on the screen which is super annoying. GPS is great, and other features are nice, just can’t get over the delay. Even a .5 second delay is too much.
How’s the delay on newer units? I use my HDS5 gen2 as a backup or loaner to a friend but there is a delay on the screen which is super annoying. GPS is great, and other features are nice, just can’t get over the delay. Even a .5 second delay is too much.
There is a tiny delay on my Garmin, but it’s so small it’s almost unnoticeable. Totally guessing, but maybe a tenth of a second (maybe even less)?
There is a tiny delay on my Garmin, but it’s so small it’s almost unnoticeable. Totally guessing, but maybe a tenth of a second (maybe even less)?
Any delay can be adjusted with sensitivity and ping rate. Slow scroll speed will also make it seem like there is a delay, but what most people perceive as a delay is the fact they are staring at the center of the screen instead of the right side where returns initially appear.
The pics above of the screen showing the fish reaction to the movements of the lure is precisely why a graph is so great.
My crotchety old neighbor said he would never get a graph unit (he has a crusty old FL8). He said next to me with my LX7 and once he saw it in action he is a believer.
Just remember that extra pixel on the bottom doesn’t mean the fish is on the buttom….its just target further than x feet from your transducer
i never use circular flasher mode. I’m usually on dual beam view 200/455khz, plain graph with rtd or split zoom
Just remember that extra pixel on the bottom doesn’t mean the fish is on the buttom….its just target further than x feet from your transducer
Correct, sometimes you can even see fish below the “bottom” which would indicate fish farther off to one side. This is especially obvious for me after the Fish Reveal update on Lowrance units a year or so ago.
Graph and vertical zoom works for me.
How’s the delay on newer units? I use my HDS5 gen2 as a backup or loaner to a friend but there is a delay on the screen which is super annoying. GPS is great, and other features are nice, just can’t get over the delay. Even a .5 second delay is too much.
You may need to change your frequency. I recall there being a delay with a certain frequency. If it’s setup correctly, it should be as good as b-mans garmin. I posted setting for ice fishing on the the gen 2 Lowrance. I’ll dig it up.
Here it is.
http://www.in-depthoutdoors.com/community/forums/topic/lowrance-hds-ice-settings/
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>bob clowncolor wrote:</div>
How’s the delay on newer units? I use my HDS5 gen2 as a backup or loaner to a friend but there is a delay on the screen which is super annoying. GPS is great, and other features are nice, just can’t get over the delay. Even a .5 second delay is too much.You may need to change your frequency. I recall there being a delay with a certain frequency. If it’s setup correctly, it should be as good as b-mans garmin. I posted setting for <em class=”ido-tag-em”>ice fishing on the the gen 2 Lowrance. I’ll dig it up.
Here it is.
http://www.in-depthoutdoors.com/community/forums/topic/lowrance-hds-ice-settings/
Thanks! I think I remember this but must have forgot. I’ll give it a try this winter and report back.
I have a 788 (I believe) and it is well over 10 years old. I have been using it on my boat bow and ice since I bought it. Once you get the settings right it seam just as fast as anything else out there. But you have history. I don’t need to add anything more about that.
Did someone mention HAMM’S??
I find the Hamm’s History much more important then scroll history.
Now back you your regularly scheduled thread.
I’ve been using Helix Ice 7 and just bought the new helix ice 7 G3 all season. The first one I had was the original or first gen if you will. I’m so use to the 2D split screen and I really like it. It’s nice to bring up the lake map on the split screen while looking for the next spot if where you are st is slow. I’m looking forward to greater interference rejection on the new G3 and they claim even greater target seperation although I was pretty amazed at what my first one could do.
I like the history function of the sonar but could live without it. I rarely if ever use flasher mode. If you want simplicity get the Showdown best dang straight forward 2D out there. I always bring mine as a backup or for someone else to use.
The lake map/GPS function would be a nice perk. I just fumble for my phone and look at Navionics but that’s rough with cold hands sometimes.
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